


Just Like I Promised

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s03e20 The Black Vera Wang, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-15
Updated: 2009-03-15
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:20:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: How I wished things went in The Black Vera Wang





	Just Like I Promised

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

“Good morning!” Best part of my day right here, folks.

“My man!” Donna smiles brightly at me. I long for the day she can say that to me for real.

“Yes.”

“You came back to me.”

“Just like I promised.”

“I missed you.” she coos. How come when Donna says it, I get turned on and when my girlfriend says it I get kind of ambivalent?

“When did you find you missed me the most?” I can’t help it. I love when Donna’s in a flirty playful mood. She hasn’t been a lot lately...well, since I started dating Amy.

“The nights.” I practically trip while walking next to her. That was bold.

“Of course.”

“Did you bring me anything?” It’s like the unspoken agreement between us. Sadly, I’m not allowed to bring her when we travel overseas for stupid idiotic budget reasons, so I always have to bring her something back. She’s never actually asked me to, but I did the first time because I felt really bad she couldn’t come. Wait until she finds out what I got her this time. I can’t wait to see the look on her face!

“I did.”

“Where is it?”

“It should be in my office.”

“Wow!” she says when we get to my office and she sees it on my desk.

“Open it.”

“I'm just happy it's not moose.” she says. Ha! “What is it?”

“Moose. It's sauna-smoked moose meat. Nicely packaged in a burnt pine box--the hinges are made from handwoven Lapland ribbons.”  
“I missed you so much.” She’s not remotely happy now. Yet, I find this all entertaining. 

“Where am I supposed to be right now?”

“The basement, Office C.” she says and starts to walk to her desk.

“I’ve got a few minutes though, right?” I ask her.

She stops and turns around. “Yeah.” she nods. “A few.”

“Come in and talk to me.” I say gesturing to my office. I pull my bag off my shoulder and drop it on the floor by my desk and then shrug out of my coat.

“What’s up?” she asks curiously.

“Nothing, I just...” I stop myself. I can’t tell her that I missed her. I mean, I know we were just talking about it, but that was a joke and I can’t actually tell her I missed her. But I do. I hate traveling without her. She makes everything more fun. And what’s more, she tells me things about the places we go to. I didn’t learn anything about Helsinki on this trip and that stunk.

“What’d you do while I was gone?” I ask casually. She smiles and walks further into the office. I think she sees this for what it really is. Donna is nothing if not good at reading me.

“Not much.” she says. “I was out of here by seven each night, had some drinks with friends.”

“Guy friends?” 

“I might have.” She says. Shit. I hate it when she dates. Don’t get into how come I can date and she can’t. She just can’t, okay? “How was Helsinki?”

“Fucking boring. What do you know about Helsinki?” I ask.

“You were just there.”

“For a summit. I didn’t get to, you know, learn anything.”

“Well, it’s in Finland.”

“That part was in the press packet.”

She smiles at me. “They speak mostly the Northern Sami language there.”

“That was in the press packet too.”

“Did they also tell you that in the Northern Sami language, the name Helsinki means ‘also loves to kiss in the town square?’” Her eyes go all wide eyed innocent like she wasn’t just waiting to throw that one at me. 

My eyebrows hike up to my forehead and my voice takes on that freaking squeak when I say, “I didn’t get to do any of that.”

“Well, maybe next time you can finagle a way to get your girlfriend on the trip.” she shrugs.

Yup, there’s that bucket of ice water. I’m speechless for a second. I was really enjoying this conversation. On the plane, it occurred to me that I was more looking forward to getting back to Donna than I was to Amy and I’d be getting sex from Amy. Is this not a man that needs to reprioritize a few things or what?

“She wouldn’t have been as fun.”

“What?” 

Oh shit. I said that out loud?

“What?” I try and cover.

“What did you just say?”

“What did I say?”

“You said she wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

“Donna, if you knew what I said, why did you ask?” I’m trying desperately for misdirection right now. “Why would you pick hanging out with me over kissing your girlfriend in the town square?” Because I’m not in love with my girlfriend.

“I didn’t say that. Did I say that?”

“In so many words.”

“In which words?”

“Josh!”

“Well, I never would have started dating her at all if I thought...”

“If you thought what?” She pushes the door closed. Good thinking.

Oh. Shit. This is what happens when Donna gets me going. I’m very vulnerable now. I just traveled through like a bajillion time zones!

“What?” I squeak.

“If you thought what, Josh?” 

It’s high noon. And it’s not just her with the good reading skills, I can see it in her eyes. Too much just got said and I either fess up here or she walks out the door and doesn’t come back and unfortunately, that may just happen anyway.

“If I thought there was any chance at all with you.”

She stops, clearly speechless. It’s possible I’m about to get slapped right now. Maybe not, but I think I’m definitely going to lose my assistant.

“You don’t get to say things like that.” she whispers.

“Sorry.” I say and drop my gaze from her. 

“How could you ever think that there wasn’t a chance!?” she hisses at me and I look back up at her, tears are streaming down her face. She wipes them away, but they continue to fall.

The only thought running through my mind right now is that Joey Lucas was right. God dammit, she was fucking right!

“Donna...” I say quietly and pull her into my arms, her hands land on my shoulders and she’s near hysterics. 

“How could you not see, Josh?” she continues. “It’s not my job to watch what you eat or wake you up in the morning. It’s not my job to stay here until your done just so you don’t fall asleep at your desk and hurt your side that I know is stiff and bothers you all the time. That stuff’s not my job, Josh! And it’s certainly not my job to pray for 16 freaking hours of surgery and promise God all sorts of stupid things if he’ll just bring you through the night. That’s not my job, Josh!”

I kiss her on the forehead and damned if I don’t feel like I’m about to cry, too. She pushes away though and I let her go. 

Not that I had a choice.

“No!” she says shaking her head. “You have a girlfriend, Josh.” 

“I’ll break up with her.” I say immediately. I cast Amy off like she’s nothing, like she’s not a person, too. How bad of an asshole does that make me?

“You’re not going to leave her for me, Josh, don’t be an idiot.” she says. 

“Donna.” I plead and take a step toward her.

“I have to get out of here.” she whispers than throws open the door and runs out of the office, and, I assume, the White House.

**********************************************

I could really kill him sometimes, I swear to God. He’s not going to break up with Amy and I’ve got to go find a new job because I can’t go there every day. It’s too humiliating. I can’t bear to see him with her and...

UGH!! I want to scream! And punch something! And punch him! And punch her! How could he do this to me?

I left the White House today in a flurry of tears and I feel like an idiot. One of the interns brought the freaking moose meat over and now it’s sitting in the middle of my living room. What the hell am I going to do with that? 

Josh has called seven times now leaving varying messages. Some have sounded calm, and some have sounded frantic. All of them have begged me to pick up. All of them have pleaded for me not to quit. And all of them have told me he was serious about what he said about Amy. 

There’s a knock on the door and in my anger, I don’t check the peephole, but whip it open and prepare to pummel whoever’s on the other side just so I’d have someone to take my anger out on.

But it’s Josh. 

And he looks... very different. 

Oh my God. Did he do it?

He looks very unsure right now and that’s not a look I’m used to seeing on him. 

The anger seems to just flow right out of me and that stupid feeling of hope that I’ve clung to for four freaking years starts to take me over. 

“You did it?” I croak. Damn my betraying voice! He nods at me silently and without my permission, the tears start to fall. “You broke up with her for me?” I ask through my tears as I step back and he steps through the door and takes me into his arms.

“Just like I promised.” he nods before he kisses me. 

Oh my Lord, I melt right into him. He actually has to hold me up. He’s pretty talented because he does that and kicks the door shut, all while kissing me. My hands come up to his face as he deepens the kiss. His arms are around me like steel bars and I’m trying to drink in as much of him as I can, just in case this is a dream, just in case he pulls away and tells me he didn’t actually do it. 

Because then I might just die.

But none of that is happening and I find myself leading him further into the living room. We should probably talk, but I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that. Instead, I want to throw him down onto my couch and make it so I can’t work for him anymore. 

I never got changed when I got home from work, so my sweater glides off first and he tosses it on the floor as he now seems to have thought of the same thing I just did and he’s gently pushing me further towards the couch. 

“Ow! Shit!” he yelps as he stubs his toe on the box of moose meat.

“That’s what you get for getting me a box of moose meat.” I say as I work his tie off. 

“Next time, I’m just going to get you the freaking mug at the airport.” he says grabbing my face and bring my lips back to his. 

I pull his shirt out as he toes off his shoes. The pants go next as he unzips my dress. Once my dress slides to the floor, I tip my head back and groan as he kisses my neck. This is all way more detailed than my normal dreams with him, so this must be real. I hold his head in place for a bit before I realize I need my hands to unbutton his shirt. That’s a much better purpose for them, although they did like what they were doing. 

Touching him is nice. Touching him is very nice. 

I push his shirt off his shoulders and pull his t-shirt over his head. But the time we get down to the couch, we’re naked. 

“Josh.” I say right as he’s about to enter me. 

“You’re on the pill, right?” 

“Well, yeah. And the last thing I want to do right now is talk about this, believe me, but up until about an hour ago you had a girlfriend and I’m going to need a gallon of mind bleach for this, but one, you know, that you did, oh God, this with...”

“It’s okay.” He smiles. “I’ve never done it like this before.”

“Never?” I ask hopefully.

“Uh-uh.”

“Me either.” I smile. 

He smiles. And then we’re making love and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I don’t think about moose meat. I don’t think about the despair I was feeling about half an hour ago. I don’t think about telling CJ or Leo or updating my resume, or the election. I think only of him and what he’s making me feel right now. I think of sneaking away to do this on the campaign trail and closing the door of his office...ordering a couch for his office. 

“I love you, Joshua.” I whisper as I feel him pulse inside of me. He closes his eyes tightly and drops his head to my shoulder.

“I love you, too.” 

*************************************

Later that week...

I smile as I see Josh leaning on the fax machine reading, I assume, a fax. He does have the cutest butt in politics. I can’t wait to get my hands on it later.

“Hey.” I say breathy in his ear, but he doesn’t seem to hear me. So, I try again. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Josh Lyman, do you happen to know...”

I’m cut off by him smiling and turning around to hug me. People look at us a little surprised. 

“My woman!” he smiles.

“Yes.”

“You came back to me!”

“Just like I promised.”

“I missed you.”

“When did you find you missed me the most?” I smile. 

“Every moment I’m awake.” he smirks. 

“You didn’t look like you had good news there.” I nod down to the fax, but he has yet to relinquish me. This is highly unprofessional. Good thing he runs this whole department.

“I don’t care right now. How as North Dakota?”

“Boring.” I answer as he pulls away, grabs my luggage and pulls it into his office. “But I was able to do a little shopping for you there.”

“What’d you bring me back?” He grins. He so knows what’s coming.

“A sauna packed fish.”

“Yum!”

“Did you know the state beverage of North Dakota is milk?”

“I didn’t and now I want to go there even less.”

I push the door shut and I’m back in his arms. “I really missed you.” he growls into my neck.

“You’re the one who sent me to North Dakota!”

“I had to stay. I have this vote that I’m losing.”

“You’ll think of something.”

“Amy hates me.”

“Yeah, looks like it.” I say. I feel horrible. He hates losing votes, especially votes he should have won, like this one. What a spiteful bitch!

“Want me to go over there and beat her up? Tell her to stay away from my man?”

“Can you settle it with a pudding wrestling contest?”

“Pig!” I shoot back and pinch his side.

“Ow! Shit!” He yelps. “I’m sure Toby and I will think of something, but as long as I have you, victory or defeat will be that much sweeter.”

“Oh, look who’s so eloquent.” I sing.

“Yes, ma’am.” he smiles. “Now stop playing around and kiss me, for the love of God.” 

Well, when he says it like that, what girl could resist? So I do. And while he’s kissing me, I realized just how much I missed him. I mean, I knew I missed him. I miss him when he just goes down to Leo’s office for crying out loud. But it wasn’t until I came back to him that I realized just how much. Now I know how he felt in Helsinki.

He moves to my neck now and I sigh. I love coming home.

THE END


End file.
